Lost & Found
by CsillaDream
Summary: Natsu loses his precious scarf... Gray finds a injured cat... Other pairings include: Loki x Lucy


_Today was just not my day…_

x~x~x~x

(Four Hours Earlier)

I had walked into the guild this morning not expecting this… and by '_this_' I mean, Lucy trying to calm Natsu down before I even made my appearance known.

"C'mon Natsu… Calm down… We'll find it, okay?" Lucy sounded exhausted as she stood in front of the fire mage in a motherly pose.

Erza also stood in front of him so I couldn't get a look at Natsu's reaction but by the sound of this voice: "but Lucy! That was a heirloom from Igneel! It's important to me!" he was pretty upset.

"So what's going on…?" I asked in a hush voice as I walked and leaned over the counter to Mirajane, who seemed to be the only one to notice my arrival.

"It seems Natsu's lost his scarf…" She responded back, whispering in my ear.

"Gray!" My back stiffened as Erza's voice entered my ears.

I swung on my heels to come face to face with Erza, who had an angry glare in her eyes; I gulped as she asked me, "Did you have something to do with Natsu's missing scarf, Gray?"

"N-no! Why the hell would I steal his stupid scarf?" I immediately regretted saying that; from the corner of my eye I watch Natsu break down in a fountain of never-ending tears.

A gut-punch from Erza knocked the wind out of me as her and Lucy rushed to Natsu's side to try and calm him down again; I stumbled out the guild doors holding my stomach as I felt my breakfast deciding to make a re-appearance. I wasn't sure where I was going but after taking so many different turns I realized something: I was actually lost!

"Shit…" I hissed, whirling into an empty alleyway as the pain in my stomach erupted out my mouth.

"Ugh that was—" My attention suddenly drawn to an oddly familiar bundle of white cloth underneath the re-incarnation of my breakfast, "Huh?" I wondered out loud as I picked up the fabric, avoiding the puke.

It was Natsu's scarf; "How did it—" again I paused as I noticed an injured cat curled up by my feet in the exact spot the scarf use to be.

"So I guess that makes you the culprit, huh?" I joked with the cat that was now staring up at me with wide green eyes.

I scooped it up in my arms carefully before getting directions back to a street I was familiar with; I walked on the cobblestone, eyeing the cat carefully with each step closer to my house. I figured I would have to give Natsu a call to let him know I found his scarf…

"…but wouldn't everyone just assume I was the one to take it?" I continued my thought out loud to no one in particular as I entered my house.

I placed the cat down on my sofa softly as I padded down the narrow hallway to the small laundry room I had, dropping the puked-on scarf in the washing machine before turning it on. I grabbed a small roll of gauze; I had lying on my shelf in the bathroom I was passing by on my way back to the cat, and some anti-ointment cream. The cat was still lying on the sofa when I appeared back at its side. I carefully rubbed some ointment on its leg before wrapping its leg snugly in the gauze. I pinned it with the safety-pin I had already attached to the gauze roll as I muttered, "Looks like you're staying with me for a bit…"

I walked over to my kitchen to grab a can of tuna from the small pantry I had and then a bowl, filled it with cold water before walking back to my living room and placing both down on the floor. I grabbed an old blanket from my closet and placed it down beside the dishes; I carefully picked up the cat and placed it on the blanket whispering: "See? Now you can get something to eat and drink when you have the strength," with a small smile.

The green-eyed cat only blinked at me before lying down onto the blanket, probably enjoying the comfort of it. Checking on Natsu's scarf, I saw the washer had already gone through all the necessary cycles; I threw it into the dryer with a dryer sheet and punched the button for the dryer to start up. I sat down on top of the dryer as I thought up ways to give Natsu his scarf.

Idea one: Give it back personally tomorrow

Problem: Everyone would assume I was the one to take it…

Idea two: Give it back tonight

Problem: Everyone would find out once Natsu said who gave it to him…

Idea three: Sneak into Natsu's house and give it to him without him knowing who I am

Problem: Someone else will take the credit…

Idea four: umm…

"I guess idea three… there'll be less chance I get blamed…" I muttered as I felt the dryer slow to a stop. _Was I thinking that long…?_

I folded Natsu's scarf, leaving the laundry room and passing the sleeping cat; I whispered a quick 'be right back' before exiting my house. I locked the door behind me; keeping more to the shadows of the street so no one would notice me, hopefully.

"His house should be around… Oh! There it is…" I finally caught sight of Natsu's apartment, which Lucy had forced him to get so he would stop staying at her place.

A low chuckle escaped my lips as I checked the front door; locked. I doubled-back to the alleyway so I could climb up onto the ledge that with one jump over would lead me towards Natsu's balcony. The fire mage always seem to forget to lock the back door; I opened the door enough so I could squeeze in without making too much noise. Lucky for me, both Happy and Natsu are **very** heavy sleepers! I crept around until I found Natsu's bedroom; I peered around, checking the floors so I wouldn't step on anything: no much luck… The moonlight barely illuminated the floor so I was basically stuck to praying for good luck; I tip-toed over towards Natsu's dresser where he clothes laid scattered across the top of it; I had planned to leave it folded there but something caught my eye…

_Wow… He looks so defenseless when he's sleeping…_

I stared at the sleeping form of the fire mage, my rival; without realizing it I had ended up standing beside his bed staring at those unguarded lips—

_Wait! This is Natsu I'm talking about here…!_

Deciding it was a good time to leave before the gods decided to screw with my luck, I began leaving Natsu's room. At least that was what I was trying to do until—**THUD!** I walked into something causing something very hard to land on my foot; I bit my lip to refrain from making any painful noises. I limped the rest of the way out, not looking back to see if I had woken either Natsu or Happy up; I barely made it home before I fumbled into my bathroom and hissed colorful words at my innocent walls. My hand fumbled, trying to grab some medical tape; I had broken quite a few bones to realize: I had broken something in my foot! I stared down at it, checking each one before I concluded it was middle toe on my left foot that I had broken. Thank god I still held into those crutches Mirajane lent me that last time I broke something in my foot.

x~x~x~x~

(The next day)

I limped out of my bed, placing the crutches beneath my armpits before making my way to the guild where I knew that everyone would be talking about Natsu finding his scarf. And then, I entered the guild as I finished my thought, everyone would be wondering how I got injured; sure enough the conversation jumped from Natsu being the spotlight to me.

"G-Gray, w-w-what happened?" Lucy rushed to my side, concern filling her eyes.

"Nothing… just broke a toe, that's all," I sighed bored as I limped over to the counter to take a seat, passing Natsu who was wearing his scarf again.

"Hey Gray… I got my scarf back!" He grinned ear-to-ear as I sat down.

I pushed back to the smirk that was begging to form as I asked, "So how did you get it back?"

"Lucy gave it to me," I nearly spit out the water I had ordered when I heard him respond; I whipped around to face him.

I was sure that I was in Natsu's house last night… so how did Lucy give him his scarf back unless—

"So that means Lucy stole it then…?" I asked, wondering if I should have given it to him personally instead.

"No, I was with Loki the night it went missing…" Lucy explained, putting her hands on her hips.

"Weren't you also with Loki last night? I doubt you would abandon him to return Natsu's scarf to him…" I scoffed, sipping more of my water.

I couldn't understand why I was irritated with Lucy taking credit for my actions; I slid off the seat and back onto my crutches before limping out the door ignoring the questions from my comrades. I could hear footsteps running closer to me as I limped away from the guild; they definitely weren't Lucy's or Erza's… Could they be…

"Gray, wait up!" Yup, Natsu was the one running after me! I paused as I came to the nearby bridge for him to catch up.

"Why are you in a bad mood all of a sudden?" He asked, staring at me intently.

"I dunno…" I lied, sighing.

"You… dunno…?" It didn't sound like he bought my lie; dammit…

"Yeah I dunno… Maybe it's because it's obvious that Lucy didn't abandon Loki just to give you your scarf…" I muttered, looking at the water below us.

"I don't recall ever saying it was given to me last night, Gray…"

_Shit! _

"You sure…? I-I-I'm pretty sure… I remember hearing you mention it…" I lied, scratching the back of my head.

"Gray, I'm not an idiot… I knew Lucy wasn't the one who gave me my scarf back… who snuck into my house… who dropped my scarf off on my dresser… and," moving so he was staring at me and I was at him, "who walked into something causing something to land on his foot when he was escaping… hmmm, Gray?" He added with a cocky smirk.

I had a feeling was my face was giving me away but; "I don't know what you're talking about…"

I watched from the corner of my eye as he lifted his scarf up a little and sniffed the fabric adding softly, "Besides… it doesn't have Lucy or my scent on it… It has yours… Care to explain?"

I explained to him about yesterday, about my little accident, and about the cat; he seemed to believe me stiffening when I mention I accidently vomited on it but relaxed when I spoke of the cat and washing his scarf.

"Show me the cat," He demanded when I was done making me sigh before I lead him to my house.

x~x~x~x~

"Aww… He's adorable~" Natsu chuckled, petting the cat's head gently.

"How do you know it's a 'he'?" I asked him, curiously.

"Alright… I believe you," he turned and grinned at me and for some reason I felt heat flood my face and more as he walked over to me, "and Gray," he whispered as he leaned in, "Thank you…" he added softly.

He pulled away a little enough so his face was a few inches away from mine; without thinking I gripped his scarf and pulled him closer until our lips met.

_Yesterday might not have been my day but today seems to have ended well…_


End file.
